1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns cooling systems for computer systems in general, and capillary pumped loop cooling systems and components adapted for high-density computer servers in particular.
2. Background Information
Recent market demands have led the computer industry to develop computer systems with increased circuit densities. For example, many hardware vendors, such as Intel, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Compaq, and Dell, offer high-density rack-mounted servers that enable a large number of servers to be housed within a single standardized rack. The chassis for these rack-mounted servers are configured to have a specific form factor that is designed to the standardized rack the servers are to be installed in. In one configuration, an ultra-thin form factor, known as the “1U” form factor, is used. Under the 1U form factor, the chassis height for each server is only 1.75 inches. In another configuration, known as the “2U” form factor, the chassis height for each server is 3.5 inches.
In addition to increased circuit density, the components in these computer servers are operating at higher and higher frequencies. For example, recent microprocessor clock rates typically exceed 1.5 gigahertz. As a result, these components, especially microprocessors, generate a large amount of heat, which must be removed from the chassis so that the components do not overheat. In conventional computer systems, this heat is generally removed using forced air convection, which transfers the heat from the heat-producing circuit components by using one or more “muffin” fans that are disposed within or coupled to the chassis to draw air over the components through the chassis. In addition, heat sinks are often mounted to various high-power circuit components, such as CPUs, to enhance natural and forced convection heat transfer processes.
In general, the rate at which heat is removed from a component is a function of the component's surface area and the velocity of the air flowing over that surface area, coupled with the temperature differential between the component surface and the air. Oftentimes, heat sinks are mounted on high temperature components to assist in removing heat from these components. For example, heat sinks comprising an array of fingers having a height of approximately 1-2 inches are commonly used to cool microprocessors in desktop systems, workstations, and pedestal-mounted servers. The heat sinks provide significantly greater surface areas than the components they are mounted to.
The low profiles of the 1U and 2U form factors create several problems for thermal engineers. Due to internal height limitations and airflow considerations, the use of heat sinks is generally restricted to lower profile heat sinks, which are much less efficient than the taller heat sinks discussed above. Also, in order to provide sufficient cooling via forced air convection, there needs to be adequate airflow passages. Although heat sinks are advantageous in many instances, they create significant airflow restrictions that greatly reduce the velocity of airflow through a computer chassis. They also take up space that may be used by other system components. Additionally, since the area of a fan blade is roughly proportional to the amount of airflow generated by a muffin fan (when fans having different diameters are rotated at the same speed), the smaller fans used in 1U and 2U form factors draw less air that the larger fans found in computer system chassis having larger form factors. As a result, the use of heat sinks in multiple microprocessor 1U configurations may be prohibited entirely. In other cases, it is necessary that the multiple processors be aligned to provide adequate airflow over all of the microprocessors, which may limit the circuit design.
To address the foregoing problems, thermal cooling systems incorporating a large planar heat pipe have been proposed for transporting the energy to another location in a 1U chassis where the energy may be more easily dissipated.